Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1887-02-19

Purling its wreath of moss and fern,
Pure and cool to the thirsty lip,--
Ages have echoed that ceaseless drip"
We are accustomed to the sight OF yege-
tation blending INTO II harmonious effect
with the rocks and the water, and we do
not stop to consider each distinct part that
goes to make up the beautiful whole.
There is too much hurry in these days to
permit, in most eases, of more than gen
eralized ideas and impressions Of any
thing; a strict examination of individual
parts would take up too much time. But,
does anyone stop a minute to speculate as
to what the appearance OF our most beau
tiful SPRINGS and grottos and laughing
waterfalls and shady banks would be if
the paltry(o little moses were swept
awav ut one blastt As the preachers of
ten say, "'trow n0t..' Not until such an
unlikely event occurred would people I'M
derstand or appreciate the wonderful
charm that these plants give TO the scenes
to which they belong. And then they
would miss them with a great miss.
Wordsworth has spoken OF the thorn all
| oyergrown with lichens and moses, call
ing it "a melancholy crop" then he says
that
I" : s Close behind this aged thorn,
There is a fresh and lovely sight,
4 beauteous heap, q hill Of moss
Just half q foot in height.
All lovely colors there you see,
Ali cnlors that were ever seen;
And NOISY network too, is there,
As If by hand OF lady fair
The work had woven been
Perhaps he was in a melancholy mood
when he called these plants a melancholy
crop. Perhaps he had some such senti-
ment as this
"The night is mother to the day,
The winter Of the spring
And ever upon old decey
The qTeeaest moses cling"
But never mind what his sentiments
were. Our talk is supposed to be about
moses. My readers may expect some
descriptions of our Montana moses; if
they do, they will expect in vain. We
have many moses here, but very few OF
them have common names, and a lot Of
to the general reader. / suppose that the
Mr.. Robt. S.Williams and myself between
us have collected in this locality, thirty or
forty kinds OF MOSES. This is only a
small proportion Of what may be still ex-
pected, for we have paid heretofore, no
special attention 70 the collecting of these
plants.
That wonderful and daring African ex-
plorer, Mungo Park, who finally lost his
ploring the river Niger, was a medical
doctor and possessed an ardent love for
botany. He could appreciate the moses,
as will be seen from the following that |
have transcribed from his "Liie." 1t will
be best to describe the circumstances of
the case first. He was travelling alone in
the heart of Africa, for his only compan-
ions, who were Negroes, had fled. He
was sick from exposure and need of food,
and his clothing was not in the best re-
pair. The sole Of one boot was tied to the |
upper by a broken bride rein. Here was |
this undaunted man still pushing onward
in the interior of Africa among hostile
Negroes and moore hostile Moors, all
alone and with nothing to eat. He was |
travelling in this fashion n day when a
party of banditti surrounded him, led him
to a wood, robbed him of everything he
had, and stripped him naked. | give his
own words from this point on.
* x * * * * X !
Humanity at last prevailed: they re-
turned me the worst of the two shirts and |
a pair of trousers; and, as they Wen away,
II of them threw back my hat, in the
crown of which | kept my memorandum;
and this was probably the reason he did
not wish to keep it.* After they were
gone, | sat for some time looking around
with amazement and terror. Which
ever way l turned, nothing appeared but
ianger and difficulty. I saw myself in
tie midst Of a vast wilderness, in the depth
of the rainy season, naked and alone, sur
rounded by savage animals and men still
more savage. was five hundred miles
from the nearest European settlement.
All these circumstances crowded at once